Last Day
I have been in London for nineteen days, and spent four days in Paris. I can’t believe that I am leaving tomorrow. There is so much that happened on this trip. I really don’t know where to begin. From the random and awesome sighting of Jude Law - David shaking his hand, and Liz’s reaction; to waiting an extra hour in Paris for the train; to hanging out and having fun with everyone; and going to all the museums and galleries, which I liked doing a lot but I just felt rushed in most of them. There is just so much to see inside the museum/art galleries and all over London. The only art gallery I didn’t feel like I was racing to be somewhere else was the Van Gogh Exhibit at the Royal Academy.
It was opening day for the Vincent Van Gogh’s exhibit, and it was packed. For me this was an experience in itself, because each room had blob-ish lines of people walking along the walls and around the center showcases surrounding each artwork. At times, I found myself responding to Van Gogh’s writings to his brother or sister, having similar very points. Especially with his quote “in all of nature, in trees for instance I see expression and a soul” (written on the wall, not sure the letter number) because I feel the same way. Also Van Gogh wrote “One must take it up with assurance, with a conviction that one is doing something reasonable, like the peasant guiding his plough or like our friend in the scratch, who is doing his own harrowing” (letter 400). This quote really inspired me to continue with where I am going with my life. One of my favorite paintings is “Two Crabs” which was inspired by Hokusai’s woodcut “Crabs.” I appreciate it because the crabs look alive, and the ocean moving. I feel like I was looking into Van Gogh’s feelings. This painting is very expressive, similiar to his Orchid paintings.
Another great memory I have is planning my team excursion. It was a bit of a challenge trying to figure out where we wanted to go, but in the end we agreed upon The British Library, and The Globe Theater. It was fun heading back over to the Globe Theater with Kelly, Sarah, and Liz. Also bring up our favorite desert to figure out what Kelly would like for her birthday. I enjoyed going to see the collection of writing and the Magna Carta at The British Museum. Our tour guide at The Globe was hilarious, and very informative. Also I liked seeing Annah get dressed in Shakespearean clothing. I plan on seeing a play at The Globe Theater. It would definitely be interesting to see a play as Shakespeare would have seen it. The fact that the theater is almost exact and has not changed to match the modern world brings me closer to history, similar to being in a Cathedral.
My favorite Cathedral in London is St. Paul’s, because I saw William Blake’s tomb in the crypt. ”To see a world in a grain of sand - And a Heaven in a wild flower - Hold infinity in the palm of your hand - And Eternity in an hour” (William Blake), when I read those words I started to cry. I really appreciate Blake’s poems. I also started to find other poets and artist, most of them where President of the Royal Academy of Arts. Also the view from St. Paul’s was amazing, although it was a cloudy and snowy day so the pictures look quite interesting. My favorite Cathedral from the whole trip is the Chartes Cathedral. When I walked through it, I was amazed. It was not commercialized, and it didn’t have electricity. Plus, the information our guide gave us was just amazing. Although it was rather cold with the windows being out to clean.
Today after the team 4 excursion, I ate at the cafe with Amy, David, MaryBeth, and Lindsey then headed to the Holocaust Section. Then Amy and I headed over to Covent Garden. I have not gone to the Natural History Museum, the Saatchi Gallery, and I did not get to go back to other museums that I wanted to spend more time in, but as Professor Gliem says “You’ll just have to come back.” And I plan on doing just that. Plus, I didn’t get to go to the cemetery to see any famous dead people, like Shakespeare. :)
Jeanne Collins
